Hello everybody!
So I've known how to properly size myself for a few years now, but I chose to ignore that and go for what's easier. Now that I've realized my mistake, I'm trying to get an updated bra size.
First, I'd like to give a little history about my bra size. My first bra, in sixth grade, was from VS, and it was a 32A. I never really thought much of that, and I rarely ever wore it. In seventh grade, I tried to put it on, and I couldn't even fasten the back. It was then that I realized that my breasts had grown quite a bit, and I found that a 34C fit nicely. By eighth grade I had been fitted at Nordstrom into a 32D, 32DD, and 32DDD, all within three months, because my boobs were sort of expanding. None of their bras ever worked for me, so I went to VS and got some 34DDs that were tolerable.

Now that I'm older (I mean not that much older, but older...), I don't want tolerable, I want faaaabulous! My breasts, it would appear, grow every time I get my period, and they do not shrink back down. Since they've just surged once more, I decided to check out your calculator. These are my measurements:

(snug underbust) 31"

(tight underbust) 30"

(standing bust) 40.5"

(leaning bust) 41" (is it supposed to be that close...? What does this measurement account for?)

(lying bust) 39"

The calculator suggested that I wear a 32GG, and while I do understand bra sizing, and how that's not too colossal, I do think it's a bit bigger than I am. Right now, I have a Chantelle 32F bra (I don't know the style name) that fits pretty okay. Sometimes my boobs don't really stay inside of it, but the side, next to my armpit, gaps a little. I tried on a 32G Chantelle a few months ago that fit wonderfully, but I didn't buy it because I didn't really like the actual bra. Anyway, I'm thinking that a 32GG is too much, but I could be wrong, because I think my boobs are a little bigger than what a 32G is portrayed as on the Bra Band Project.

As for a 34DD VS Body by Victoria demi bra, it is my worst enemy. The band does not fit in any way, and my leftie, which is bigger than my rightie, does not go into the cup, and my rightie is hardly in there either. I tried a 36DD, and while the cup fit perfectly (although that was before my breasts grew most recently), the band was horrid. I've worn one 30-band and it was way too tight for my liking. The problem I seem to have with most bras that may be alright in the cup, is that the cup sometimes cuts into my breast, which is not great.

Another issue I have is that I can put on a bra, and this was really bad with every 32DD, and it will fit really well, but less than ten minutes later I'll be spilling out of it so badly that I may as well be wearing a 32B! Does anyone know why this might be happening?

Okeydokey, this is getting a little long, so I'll stop now! Thanks in advance to anyone who replies, and to ABTF in general for helping so many bra-seekers!

PS, I've never actually posted in Reddit before, despite browsing it rather frequently, so I'm sorry if this post seems a little crazy! :P

You need to always swoop and scoop all your tissue into the cups when putting on a bra, you'll soon see if there actually IS enough room, otherwise your breasts will do their own thing later on as you have found out!

No, the three bust measurements help give an idea of how they behave, and almost a '3-D' mental image of what they likely look like and how they behave. For example, my standing and laying are the exact same, but my leaning is 2.5" or so bigger, so this would suggest that they are on the softer side and I likely have elastic skin when gravity comes into factor. Which is exactly what's going on. My breasts aren't super firm or squishy, but I've been pregnant and breastfed all three of my kids, so the skin is a bit stretched from having been at least 4 cups larger than they are now at some point.

i used to always have the issue of "this bra fits great" and ten minutes later "im going to burn this awful bra". i think its an issue of the wrong size. when we adjust at first, everything will seem good, but its the "settling in" that really shows us what's going on. what i notice the most is that the band will start to rise, and if the cup is too shallow it will scoot down on your rib cage and let everything fly! you should start to see less of that huge it fits/now it doesn't conundrum when youre in something closer to fitting, though im no expert nor am i near your size, so youll probably get better advice from other users :)

best of luck, i hope you find ABTF and the faaaabulous fit you deserve :D

it is! so many bras returned because once i got them home and tried to wear them, they no longer fit. best bet is to try the same style bra in a few sizes though, so you know if its a shape issue or a size issue. ie: cleo marcie on me in any size doesnt work, for a while i thought maybe i wasnt getting the right size, but its just shaped all wrong for me. if i had ordered, say, a 32FF, 34FF, and 34F all at once i would've known way sooner. instead i played the returns game :P

I currently measure 29" snug underbust, 40.5" standing bust, and 41" leaning bust. If it helps, I have had the most luck with 32Gs(I was wearing a 32dd/34d prior to proper fitting). My advice would be to try 32Gs ans 32GGs and go from there! When you're trying on bras, be sure to scoop all of your breast tissue into the cups so you don't run into the same delayed spillage issue as the 32dd. I hope this helps!

IIRC Chantelle 32F is actually equivalent to a UK 32E. Chantelle's system progresses one letter at a time and skips double lettering. So it's more like this:

A/B/C/D/E (UK DD)/ F (UK E)/ G (UK F)/H (UK FF). Honestly I do not think highly of Chantelle on the whole, though they seem to work for some women.

Keep in mind that shape is just as crucial (maybe more so!) than size for most women. I have tried dozens of bras in 34F/FF and 36F that are god awful. They look gigantic on me, yet I have a handful in my size that fit me reasonably well. Certainly cup sizes vary between models and makers, but that alone is not sufficient to explain why many bras in my proper size do not fit well. For me, it's all about shape!

36DD -> 34E -> 32F. If this bra fit you okay before you breasts grew, combined with

Really?! Okay then I probably am a 32G, from what I can tell by comparison to that picture. Thank you very much, lovely! I've tried checking the Bra Band Project out, but I can't ever tell how any of their bodies are!

There's quite a range in looks, do you know what I mean? My underbust is about 35-35.5", give or take depending on water retention. It's surprising then that I regularly take a 34 band, even in makers like Cleo. Thus I look quite different from another hypothetical 34 band wearer, who may measure 33" but prefer a looser band. Then of course we all have different ribcages and whatnot.

Some women look more like this >...... < (exaggerated of course) but I look more like this |.......| with our hips flairing out beneath those two shapes. This also affects bra band styles that work for different people (search this sub for "flared ribcage", you'll see a lot of posts).

Those measurements sound like 32G, but 32GG is definitely possible. Try both if you can and see how you go.

The leaning measurement accounts partly for firmness, and also partly for shape - with firm breasts, the leaning is likely to be close to the standing, and the leaning will tend to be most accurate. It's also needed to account for shallow breasts and breasts with wide roots, because gravity pulls everything into the plane you're measuring, whereas when standing, some of the tissue hides.

Wow, really? That does seem like a big difference! Oh my gosh! I just checked my bra, and I do appear to be having some armpit-boob....yikes! Thanks for telling me, that makes a 32G seem a little better!

yeah, for reals. I was SOO shocked - i mean, it's a 4 cup size difference and there I was all smug thinking I had it sussed and i wore 'a funny size' but actually i needed a different 'funny size' and the huge improvement to my boobs, body, confidence was amazing. I wan't too keen on the H size, but sod it, my boobs and body looked so much better than when I was wearing an F cup!!

My measurements are very similar and i started as a 32gg but after migration (had been wearing a 34dd for 20yrs) im now in a 30hh in most bras and borderline 30j esp during pms.
I had gaping in the 34g cleo i bought to start at nordstroms and now im quadraboobing out of it, so word of warning to not buy a ton right off ;)

I have not redone my measurements since migration but i believe im 30" tight underbust and 42" over or thereabouts.
So i am a bit bigger bust wise but not much, and 30 bands work for me in both cleo and freya (which run a bit bigger anyway)
Id be a 32h or 30hh and i had to buy a 28j in a cleo bra that ran extra stretchy